Technology
A Researcher Needed Three Hours to Identify Me From My DNA
My case highlights the threat to privacy from genetic databases.
A 23andMe Inc. DNA genetic testing kit.
Photographer: Cayce Clifford/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Using just my DNA, a genealogist was able to identify me in three and a half hours.
It wasn’t hard. I’d previously sent a DNA sample to the genetic testing company 23andMe Inc. and then uploaded my data anonymously to a genealogy website. Researcher Michelle Trostler was able to access my data from that site and spent an afternoon looking for connections that would help her put a name to my data. The task was so easy that in the meantime she rewatched a season of Game of Thrones.